


The Night In The Woods

by TheHirsch



Series: Dust and Ashes [2]
Category: Almost Human, Dust And Ashes
Genre: Angst, Chemical Weapons, F/M, Horror, Mutants, Mystery, PPE, TW: Blood, TW: creepy stuff, TW: war stuff, War, World War III
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-27 18:17:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19796398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHirsch/pseuds/TheHirsch
Summary: The creature killed the chickens overnight. The proof is on camera. Now they need to take care of it. But things seem to be harder than expected.





	The Night In The Woods

Something had killed the chickens overnight; the camera had caught it. All sightings had been in close proximity to one another. It didn’t seem to be moving much, but the area of woods was still quite large. On the images of poor quality, it seemed like a big and very hungry dog.  
Jurow and Kennex had left the mansion in the afternoon, now it was night. It was dark, the sky was cloudy and to all perfection, another chemical attack started right after sunset and it went on and on. The planes were turning in huge circles over the area but the leaves kept dripping even when the planes weren’t directly above the two.  
Down between the massive trees, the two were carefully taking one step in front of the other. Their torches were always lighting different spots on the ground. Both of them had their guns out and ready. Their packs were hidden under their capes, where they were shielded from the poison dripping down from above. They were constantly listening out for any sounds, any sound that could tell them where the creature was hiding. Breathing through their masks was getting harder by the hour, they needed to replace their filters soon.  
The monster was fast, they were trained fighters but they knew that they would barely have any chance. Suddenly Jurow froze, Kennex too only seconds after her. She let go of her gun with one hand and raised one finger, she had heard something. He listened more closely. There was a whimper, it was quiet but the two slowly headed into its direction. They were practically moving sideways, being back to back. They soon saw it, it was a deer, hurt by the toxic rain, he had fallen to the ground, he was exclaiming in pain, while it was slowly dying.  
“Can you help?” Kennex asked quietly through his mask.  
Jurow looked at him through the screen of her gasmask, she squatted down. It would be hard to save the deer, she probably didn’t have the right supplies. She only knew how to treat humans; she was still working on that. She still was not able to save everyone who had been exposed too badly. She shook her head, glancing up at him.  
“We can't leave him,” Kennex muttered, sounding bitter.  
Jurow nodded in agreement. She pointed her gun at the deer, he looked up at her, he locked her into the eye. She could not do it, her left hand started shaking. For the first time in like forever she hesitated. She exhaled, her finger hovering over the trigger, suddenly something jumped out of the shadows, grabbed the deer and ran off as fast as it had appeared.  
Both jumped back, panting, both hadn’t seen this coming. The beams of both their light were now directed into the direction the monster had went. It had left a trail of blood on the dead leaves on the ground.  
Both Kennex and Jurow were on high alert, both of them felt the adrenaline of the short scare rushing through them, both of them were breathing fast and louder than they would have liked.  
Jurow kept her beam of light moving around swiftly. “Where did it go?”  
Kennex kept following the blood, freezing as he saw parts of what seemed to had been the deer. This just was getting much better. Above them the planes came closer again, this caused Kennex to curse. The drone of the planes was too loud, they couldn’t hear steps or any other noises and the monster would have chances to sneak upon them.  
Jurow had to hold her gun with both her hands but she would have loved to talk Kennex’ hand into hers.  
Suddenly the trail of blood ended.  
“We should head home, come back with backup,” Jurow said quietly, just loud enough to be heard through the mask and over the sound of the planes.  
The rain itself was intensifying and they could hear how the poison poured down onto their capes.  
“It could cause more damage, or leave the area. We have to do it now when it is still around.” He felt how breathing was getting harder. “Cover me. I really need new filters first. You should switch too before we need to fight. You need air to fight, right?”  
Jurow hummed something in agreement, she could sense how scared he was. She pulled out the extra tarp and covered him with it, so he could get off the cape to access his pack. He was careful not to spill anything on her or his gear. He pulled out one filter than the other, while Jurow made sure they weren’t attacked. He changed his filters and then got up and changed hers for her. She let him do it, not moving much.  
Suddenly she saw movement from the corner of her eye, raising her gun again. She was not sure what it was or just a harmless animal might have been also suffering from the effects of the rain.  
It was too dark to tell for Kennex if she is alright. She waited until he had packed his stuff and had put the cape on, again, testing if his filters were on properly. He folded up the cover and got his gun out again. For both of them was breathing my easier, almost like they had no mask on at all.  
Over the sound of the planes, they could hear a branch break. Focus! Jurow felt her heart pound, there was movement in the short trees and bushes to their left. It got wilder and wilder until a creature, the size of a lion jumped them. It was being shot at by both of them, not bothered much. It threw Kennex off his feet, leaving him on the ground. It stopped behind him and got ready to attack again. Jurow kept shooting, unsure where to aim. It went for her next. It all drowned in chaos, while the poison rain kept pouring down onto them.  
Stinging pain went through Jurow’s left leg, she could feel the warmth of blood mixing in with the coldness of the rain and the burning sensation the chemicals caused where it hit her skin and especially where she was hurt. She had to fight. She got up. She heard gunshots.  
Kennex had only been kicked off his feet, he was lying on the ground, he kept firing rounds at the thing, whatever it was, it sure looked like the creature on the tape.  
Jurow tried to do the same. She had to fight. She had to focus.  
The creature was limping when it got ready for another try. It was slowly getting weaker, but it didn’t stop attacking the two. It seemed to try and bite their throats, typical behaviour among predators.  
Jurow and Kennex both were thankful that their vests came with throat protection. It would make the creature's efforts a lot harder.  
“Aim for the head!” Jurow called out, hoping this would work. She took a deep breath, she had to focus. Her cape was ripped apart, everything was tingling and burning. She was glad her ballistic PPE was protecting her chest and abdomen from the creature’s claws. Since it mostly went for her now.  
Kennex moved over to her, trying to shield her with his own body, at least from the rain. He knew it they would have the baby together in late winter or early spring. They had to.  
The creature jumped at him, seeming incredibly mad.  
Kennex grabbed it around its neck. He stabbed his knife into its eye, as deeply as he could. The monster tried to shake him off, managing to rip off his mask and most of his cape, and then catapulting him at least five meters. Leaving him on the ground motionless and breathing hard.  
The creature stumbled and then fell over. Black blood was oozing from its wounds, but it was missing the liquidity normal blood had. It had more the consistency of gore.  
Jurow took all her strength to get up, she tried to pick up Kennex’ mask while she limped over to him. She tried to get the tarp over them again. They were both exposed already, their capes were completely ruined.  
“John!” she called out, as loud as she could. She shone her light into his face and over his body trying to find the major injuries first. “Hey, John!”  
Kennex didn’t move. His breathing was laboured and shallow, the chemicals were starting to let his airways swell. There were countless scrapes and cuts, some of them were deep. The claw had left a cut across his face. It was not deep but it looked somewhat scary.  
She turned his mask in her hands, it was kaput beyond repair, she tossed it aside. She cursed and took off her helmet, to take off her mask to put it on him, at least for some time.  
“John, breathe for me,” she said softly. She could feel the fumes burn in her eyes and lungs. Right now, she was trying to stop the bleeding on his good leg. Her hands were shaking when she pulled out an Israeli trauma bandage from the pocket of her vest, her only proper chance to stop the bleed out here. After she was done she checked if they both were truly covered by the tarp.  
Then she went to stop the bleeding of her own major wounds, they kept her from working properly.  
Kennex began to stir, he saw her, leaning over him, the tarp above them, her face strangely lit from underneath by her torch.  
“Where’s your mask?” he asked in a whisper. Jurow gestured towards him. “Yours is unfixable.”  
“But the baby…”  
“I won’t allow them to grow up without a dad,” she said softly, fighting not to cough. She was fixing him up as best as she could. But he was fiddling with the mask already.  
“You take it. You are breathing for two.” He took it off and handed it to her.  
She put it on, with a deep frown, she knew that they had to share it or else one of them wouldn't make it.  
The planes kept circling over them.  
They had to get back to the mansion. At night the chemicals took a lot longer to dissolve, the woods would take until next noon to be safe again. This would not be easy. Like at all.  
“Here,” Jurow muttered and handed him his inhaler. It was practically doping and in the long term, it was not good and would make you turn faster. It expanded the airways again allowing for more toxins to get into the bloodstream when used several times while still exposed, it could cause issues. The bad kind. They knew they could only use it when it went really bad.  
Kennex didn’t manage to grab it before he passed out again. His blood pressure was low, he was in bad shape.  
“Fuck, please just don’t die on me.” She sounded angry but she would fight.  
She kept the cover over them, attaching her torch to her vest. She grabbed him to drag him with her uphill, towards the mansion, their base. She loosened straps of the mask completely so she could put it on him.  
The way back home wouldn’t be easy. She knew he would do the same for her. They would die for each other.

***

Two hours later, the guard on watch rang the alarm at the mansion. There were two figures slowly approaching, they were visible in the light of the rising sun. It was still beneath the horizon but it was already getting brighter. The attack had stopped at this point, but the chemicals still covered everything that hadn’t been protected  
The guard soon saw who it was and called out towards the arriving backup that they needed Leslie, now. Jurow was dragging Kennex with her, he was fading in and out of unconsciousness.  
It took some time until the two made it to the gate, they were still handing the mask to one another and the baby was the reason they were still fighting.  
Leslie took way too long until she had gotten into her gear but then she ran, and so were Dorian and Valerie. The three helped the two inside who were both about to pass out. Jurow had only fixed up what had needed fixing and they were still leaving a trail of blood. She was exhausted, only the will to live had kept her going. They both had countless smaller burs from the exposure and their airways were almost shut. They had both refrained from using their inhalers since they needed to stay alive. It was a dance on the edge.  
As soon as the doors were shut behind them, the two relaxed a bit. They were safe but it was not over yet. Jurow took several bursts from the inhaler and then handed it to Kennex, who took it with shaking hands. Upon burns, cuts and skin irritations they both were pale. Kennex looking a lot worse than her.  
“You killed it?” Valerie asked, seeing their injuries.  
“Yeah, and it almost killed us.” Jurow didn’t let go of Kennex. She helped him get out of his soaked clothes. Dorian, not having to fear the chemicals, was a great help.  
Jurow was about to pass out, but she managed to walk up to the infirmary on her own, while Dorian carried Kennex. Leslie, Carol and Valerie followed.  
It took hours until all their burns and cuts were cleaned and treated. They didn’t seem to be in danger of turning, but especially Kennex’ blood loss was concerning. Both were hooked up to IV-bags with fluids and medication, that would help them neutralise the poison.  
After the pair was stable, cleaned from all the harmful toxins (on the outside) and in fresh clothes Dorian carried them over to their room, next doors, one by one. Jurow was at least half-awake, deeply concerned about Kennex.  
When Dorian set him down in bed next to her, she helped the DRN cover him with their blanket. She laid down right next to Kennex, trying not to knot herself up in her IV-line.  
Dorian’s face was flashing blue, he scanned the two and the baby, to make sure they would be alright. He was scanning for the hundredth time just in this hour. Kennex was still his best friend, Jurow was close to him too. The android set down on a chair, close to them to keep an eye on them while they slept, doing scans every few minutes.  
***  
Jurow coughed hard and sat up, she couldn't breathe, there was air trapped in her lungs again. Subconsciously her left hand wandered to the left side of her chest, to the exact place where she kept the inhaler. Of course, there was nothing. She was not even in her tactical vest anymore. It had been a few hours since the two had been put to bed.  
Dorian rose from his chair, he had not left his post. He got up and walked around the bed to hand her the inhaler.  
Jurow gratefully took it, still coughing. After taking the medication, waiting and trying to breathe normally, she wiped off her tears and gave Dorian a shaky smile. “Thank you, De.”  
She took another shot from the inhaler before handing it back to him.  
She leaned back and laid down again, trying to calm down her racing thoughts: She was out of there, she was safe.  
She turned to Kennex, took his hand, it was warm, thank god. Her hand wandered up to his wrist, so she could feel his pulse.  
“Don’t worry, Natasha. My scans indicate that all his bleeds were stopped and that he won’t turn into a zombie, despite your extended exposure. Leslie said he will completely recover.”  
Jurow looked relieved. Her hands wandered towards her belly, the baby.  
“Relax, the baby seems to be alright. It’s only a little stressed since you are.” Dorian said.  
This caused Jurow to frown. She took a deep breath followed by another coughing fit. The doctor cursed softly and then turned to her side embracing Kennex from behind.  
She could hear his heart beating in his chest and feel how he was breathing. Quietly she started crying, it soon turned into a sob.


End file.
